Top 9 ang Basista sa “Most Resilient” sa Pinas

Ni Mortz C. Ortigoza

CANDON CITY – Nasungkit na naman ng Bayan ng Basista sa Pangasinan ang Top 10 sa buong Pilipinas bilang No. 9 sa pagiging mapagkumpitensya sa pamamagitan ng “resiliency” o katatagan sa pagnenegosyo.

Sa isang parangal na pinamumunuan ng Department of Trade and Industry na ginanap dito, hindi lang nabigyan ng pagiging Top 9 sa 3^rd-4^th Class Municipalities ang bayan na ito sa ilalim ng mabisang pumumuno ni Mayor Jolly R. Resuello ngunit ito ay No. 3 sa buong Rehiyon Uno sa pagiging “Resilient” sa ilalim ng 2024 Cities and Municipalities Index (CMMI) survey.

Ayon sa plaka ng pagpapahalaga na ibinigay ng DTI Region-1: “In recognition of their exemplary performances in the conduct of the 2024 Cities and Municipalities and Competitiveness Index Survey. Given this 6^th day of November 2024 at the Fiesta Hiraya Rimat ti Amianan – Rambak ti Laing ken Talugading ti Rehiyon Uno, Candon City, Ilocos Sur”.

Ito ay nilagdaan ni DTI Region -1 Director Atty. Raymond G. Panhon.

 Noong isang taon, sinabi ni Mayor Resuello sa Northern Watch Newspaper na ang bayan niya ay humakot na ng sampung national at regional awards sa “exemplary performances in governance”.

Binanggit niya ang national awards na Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) – binansagan na gold standard sa lahat ng parangal sa buong bansa – na galing sa Department of Interior & Local Government, Seal of Child Friendly Local Governance (SCFLG), 2022 Regional Anti - Drug-Abuse Council (ADAC) galing sa DILG, Performance Awards Gawad Kalasag galing sa National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), No. 8 in Region-1 for the Subaybayani 2022, Peace & Order Council (POC) na galing sa DILG, No.3 nationally on the 2022 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) ng DTI, at ng Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping (SGFH).

Lumakas ba si Belen Matapos Masuspende ang 3 Solon?

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Bakit sa Office of the President nag file ng preventive suspension ang kampo ni Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez kontra sa tatlong City Councilors sa kanilang “disruptive behavior” sa loob ng sesyun hall noong Pebrero 2024.

SUSPENDIDO: Ang tatlong mambatatas sa Dagupan City na binabaan ng Office of the President ng preventive suspension ng 60-araw. Magmula sa kaliwa: Councilors Alipio “Alf” Serafin Fernandez, Red Erfe-Mejia at Victoria Lim-Acosta. 

“Copies of the video that reached social media showed (Councilor Red) Erfe-Mejia trying to wrestle control of the session by snatching microphones away from other officials, then delivering a tirade against others present in the session as well as demanding to lock the room to prevent anyone inside from leaving,” ayon sa isang bahagi ng utos na pinirmahan ni Office of the President’s Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Atty. Anna Liza Logan.

Inilagay ng O.P si Mejia at Councilors Alipio “Alf” Serafin Fernandez at Victoria Lim-Acosta sa 60 – araw na suspension na nagsimula noong ika-30 ng Oktubre.

Bakit hindi sa Ombudsman na pinamumunuan ni former Supreme Court Justice Samuel Martires ng administrative case?

Ayon sa mga abogadong ayaw magpasambit ng mga pangalan, ayaw nila sa Ombudsman dahil si Martires ay appointed sa Ombudsman ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.

E ano ngayong kung appointed ni Digong si Martires, ano ang kuneksyon ng tatlong Magic 7 councilors na sina Fernandez,  Lim, at Mejia dito sa pag iwas kuno ng mga nagrereklamo sa Ombudsman?

Ang sagot: Malapit si dating Mayor Brian Lim – kaalyansa at kapatid ng mga nasuspende – kay Vice President Sara Duterte. Si Lim ay Manager sa Northern Luzon ng Office of the Vice President. Tatay ni Sara si dating President Duterte.

Meanwhile, abangan ang blog ko kung ano ang epekto sa Magic 7 na naging Minority 4 na lang at ang 5 minority councilors ni Mayor Fernandez na biglang naging majority solon hanggang Enero.

Kaya na ba nila magpasa ng P1.6 billion 2025 appropriation budget na ipinasa ni Mayor Belen sa Sanggunian Panlungsod noong isang buwan? Kaya ba nila e fast tract na mag loan ng bilyon o mahigit pa sa bangko para mailipat na ung bagong munisipyo sa lupain sa Brgy. Pantal na edo- donate nila sa city government?

Possible ba na mangyari ito? Ano ang implikasyon pag mangyari ito sa labang Celia Lim vs Belen sa mayoralty sa Mayo 2025?

Abangan ang mahabang blog ko o podcast dito.

Pag-uusapan natin kung ano ang papel ng simple majority at qualified majority ayon sa batas at sa Korte Suprema sa equation sa Sanggunian kung saan magbabangaan ang lima kontra apat.

Magbabangaan ba?

E paano kung di papasok ang apat ng Magic 7 kada sesyun, kaya ba nila esabotahe ang mga legislative plan ng mga kalaban?

Abangan!

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Whither Democrat?

Newly elected U.S President Donald Trump says Republicans even dominated the Senate. With the House of Representatives under his party, too, almost all the president's political and economic programs could be feasible.

Ukraine billion dollars military aid from the U.S versus Russia surely stop.

Would Israel bomb now the nuclear facility of Iran that Trump is already elected? Trump ordered the assassination of an Iranian general when he was travelling to the airport in Iraq.

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Quad Committee congressmen like Stephen Paduano browbeats former Duterte officials and mediamen Paul Gutierrez and Benny Antiporda after they have been fingered by narcotics peddling accused detainee Jimmy Guban and retired Colonel Ed Acierda for protecting narco importers like Polong Duterte, Mans Carpio, and others.

Paduano even chided and shouted at Benny for the narration he got from Acierto that the latter never said.

Damn! Relish this live congressional hearing.

I met over bottle of beers Antiporda when he was still a president of the National Press Club when he visited the huge numbers of media practitioners in Pangasinan. Some of the practitioners are voters until now for the officers of the NPC.

What made the saga of Guban and Acierto gruesome? Three of of their colleagues were murdered during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte because they were accused to abet drugs and as a potential witness against Polong and his brother in law Mans and others.

Guico Gung-ho to Spike Jobs in P'sinan

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

PASAY CITY – The administration of Pangasinan Governor Ramon V. Guico III has been aggressively sending entrepreneurs and craftsmen to expo hubs to raise their stocks and thus generate employment among its constituents through micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME).

Representatives from Pangasinan at the Manila FAME held  at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. It is lead by Dr Grace Guico, Founding President of Project Abound and Provincial Administrator Ely Patague.

In October 19 to 21, 2023, Governor Guico sent 10 of the province’s “who’s who” of the MSME for the trade show’s Manila FAME at the Manila Peninsula in Metro Manila.

In May 2023, he sent Pangasinan businessmen to join the International Food Expo (IFEX) held at the World Trade Center (WTC) here.

In October 17-19, 2024, the provincial government sent 11 entrepreneurs and artisans to attend the Manila FAME at the WTC to showcase their products for the local and foreign investors there.

The Guico Administration even leased the huge spruce up booth there for almost P1 million to accommodate for free the representatives from Pangasinan. The booth was declared the Best Booth Design among the 350 enterprises that joined from the various parts of the country.

“Marami kasing magagandang produkto ang Pangasinan. Kulang lang ng exposure. Ang mga tao we have all the talents and the skills. Kaya kung wala silang basis wala silang benchmark. Kaya I wanted them to come over dito sa exibit para makita nila gaano kaganda iyong products,” said by Dr. Grace Guico, the mother of the governor, who was the Founding President of Project Abound.

MSMEs employ the country’s abundant raw materials into functional and aesthetic pieces.

They comprised 99.5 percent of all registered business establishments in the Philippines in 2019. They generate 62.4 percent of the country's total employment, contribute 36 percent of gross value added, and account for 25 percent of total exports, according to the Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines.

Philippines First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos visits the Pangasinan booth while she buys a steel lampshade there.

The Department of Trade and Industry categorizes MSMEs based on their asset size and number of employees. It is micro if they have PHP 3,000,000 or less in assets and one to nine employees, small enterprises if they have PHP 3,000,001 to PHP 15,000,000 in assets and 10 to 99 employees, and medium enterprises if they have PHP 15,000,001 to PHP 100,000,000 in assets and 100 to 199 employees. Large enterprises have over PHP 100,000,001 or more in assets and 200 or more employees.

Although they are considered the backbone of the economy, MSMEs do not appear to survive once they engage in foreign trade. Bautista and Manzano (2018) found that only six in every ten exporting Philippine MSMEs survive after their first year of operation. This figure drops to less than four in every ten by the end of their fourth year.

Majority of the MSMEs, according to the DTI, can be found in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 204,844 (18.54%) business establishments, Region 4-A (CALABARZON) with 163,710 (14.81%), Region 3 (Central Luzon) with 139,912 (12.66%), Region 7 (Central Visayas) with 79,689 (7.21%), and Region 6 (Western Visayas) with 75,553 (6.84%). These top five (5) locations accounted for about 60.06% of the country’s total number of MSME establishments. The regional concentration of MSMEs is largely associated with economic activity and population size.

“Oppurtunity para sa ating MSME para palakasin pa ang kanilang pagawa ng mga produkto na maipagmalaki natin sa buong Pilipinas at buong mundo. Nakikita naman natin na world class talaga,” Provincial Administrator Ely Patague told reporters that milled around him at the Pangasinan’s booth here.

The country’s First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos visited the booth and bought a steel lampshade there.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. visited the trade expo the following day.

Who wins the U.S Presidential Election?

By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

Who wins between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump one day before the presidential D-Day in the United States?

Based on the pollster of ABC TV this morning, if Harris wins the votes of the Electoral College* in the states of Wisconsin (10), Michigan (15), and Pennsylvania (19), she gets the 270 electoral college's magic votes win.

If Trump gets the winning votes in the states of Nevada (6), Arizona (11), Georgia (16), and South Carolina (9) and anyone in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania he wins.

All the seven states I mentioned are the swing states or the seven battle grounds because the voters of the 43 states in America have already telegraphed their choice through scientific polls between Harris and Trump.

If Trump gets Pennsylvania 19 votes, for instance, he scored 287 votes -- more than enough, sanamagan!, for the 270 threshold to win the most powerful position in the world.

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* For those of you readers who could not understand how the Electoral College works, here's a link titled: ELECTORAL COLLEGE FOR DUMMIES: https://spunout.ie/.../the-electoral-college-for-dummies/

Why Israel did not Attack the Nuke, Oil Plants of Iran?

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

 Many wondered why the Israeli Air Force (IAF) did not attack on October 19, 2024 (Philippines’ time) the almost complete Iranian nuclear facility at Isfahan and the petrochemical plants in Khargh Island, Chabahar Port, and Bandar Abbas in Iran. 

My answer: The nuke facility is 40 feet deep in the mountain of Isfahan and the IAF could carry only the U.S made Golden Horizon Ballistic Missile (for the F-15 jet), Rocks’ air-to-surface missiles carried by the F-16 jet, and the 250-pound GBU-39B bunker buster guided munitions. The lead aircraft for that extraordinary mission were squadrons of the stealth Lockheed Martin U.S made F-35 Lighting II (39 on the IAF's inventory).

Photo is internet grabbed.

IAF has 66 F-15 A/C, F-15 I, and F-15 IA, 175 F-16 C/I, 2 Boeing 707 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) modified with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and 7 Boeing 707 air tanker jets. Those fighter jets have been believed to refuel from the air tankers somewhere in militarily weak Syria after they attacked the radar sites of that country and Iraq and the surface to air missile (SAM) installations as first wave in the provinces of Ilam, Tehran, and Khuzestan all in Iran, ballistic and hypersonic missile sites for the second wave, and key military barracks, drones and missiles manufacturing facilities, and command structure for the third wave. That operation took almost 2,000 kilometers for that one way trip alone or more than  the 1,430 kilometers length of Laoag Ctiy to General Santos City.

Countless armed drones were used by the Israelis as deception through the 11, 000 kilometers routes from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, to Iran. All of them except one were shot down by Iranian surface to air missiles’ Russian made S-300 and homegrown Bavar 373 - Iran's version of S-300.

The nuke plant is impenetrable to all the ordnances brought by those more than 100 fighter jets when it flew at one o clock in the morning of October 19 and bombed through three waves from 2 AM to 3 AM of the same day and hit the provinces of Ilam, Tehran, and Khuzestan.

The IAF needs the lethal monstrous 5,000 – pound GBU- 72/B bunker buster bomb carried by an F-15E Strike Eagle that could penetrate and obliterate the nuclear facility 40 feet below the surface of the mountain. If the U.S sees the clear and present danger through this nuke plant against the existence of the Jewish, err, Israelites when the Iranian weaponized it then the GBU-72 will be the savior of their trusted ally against the Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East where it can turn into the ashes the Isfahan’s leviathan that became the Mother of All Insecurity among the Jews.

 They done a similar adventurism in their surgical strikes when the IAF destroyed the nuke plants of Iraq and Syria by using the vaunted F-16 -C/I -- the same aircraft the American brought (12 of 'em) at Basa Air Base, Pampanga in April this year where U.S pilots from Japan told me they were  armed with radiation homing missiles that destroy radar and surface air attack missile sites of the enemies whenever they try to open them.

 Why the IAF did not bomb to smithereens the exposed petrochemical facilities that are the main source of foreign currency of the Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief the top cleric Ali Hosseini Khamenei and his subalterns in Tehran where it sells the bulk of it to oil guzzling China? Incase those U.S made jets who launched those global positioning satellite (GPS) guided Golden Horizon Ballistic Missile and Rocks’ air-to-surface missiles from Iraqi’s airspace – yes Virginia they did not fly inside Iran thus all of ‘em went home unscatched -- then the people of the world would be queueing on their pump stations as oil from its present U.S $68 a barrel skyrockets to U.S$150 a barrel.

Not to mention retaliatory strikes from Iraninian missiles against oil facilities in Saudi, Kuwait, Oman and the civilian population in Israel.

Why? China, particularly, turns eventually to Russia for its oil while competing with those European countries who buy their petrol from the former. Remember how the economics' Law of Supply and Demand could affect this dilemma when that law was being taught to us in highschool?

 It took only the bravado of an incensed Philippines President Joseph Estrada who frantically ordered his executives to soldier on on their majority allies in the rubber stamp's Congress to repeal that perennial economics law as it became a nuisance to his ears everytime oil in the Middle East spikes. Anyway, that presidential blunder for me looked like a joke, hahaha!

Israel bombing the oil facilities in Khargh Island (where 90 percent of it goes for export), Chabahar Port, and Bandar Abbas? 

Susmariosep! U.S President Joe Biden opposed it vehemently because it could give the death blow to his heir apparent Kamala Harris as she locked horns with the The Donald (Donald Trump) for the forthcoming acrimononius neck and neck November 5 U.S presidential election. The Yanks would not like their gas stations bill ‘em with an inflationary price for their vehicles while they line up to cast their votes for their 47^th president.